As Long As You're Mine
by acsbabyangelgirl
Summary: Challenge 25 Mark's keeping a secret from Roger. A big secret.
1. Chapter 1

**As Long As You're Mine**

DISCLAIMER: I do not own RENT or anything affiliated with it.

A/n: In response to Challenge # 25 at Challenge Central. I normally don't write slash, so yeah, I'm not good at this. In fact, I try to avoid writing sexual situations at all. But, well, we'll just see where this goes, shall we?

Mark stared out the loft window, leaning his head against the glass as he watched traffic. He was so engrossed in his thoughts he didn't notice Roger come up behind him. He didn't even notice Roger wrap his arms around him. He didn't even realize Roger was in the loft until Roger gently kissed the back of his neck. Mark flinched at the slight touch. He certainly hadn't expected it.

"What's got you so jumpy this morning?" Roger asked.

"I didn't realize you were here," Mark replied. "You scared me, that's all."

"I'm sorry," Roger whispered, kissing the back of his neck again. Mark closed his eyes and smiled at the touch this time. "Can I make it up to you?"

"As much as I would love that, I've got to go in a minute," Mark told him, turning around and kissing him on the lips.

"Work?" Roger asked.

"Yeah. Someone called in sick, and they asked me to pull an extra shift," Mark told him. "It's not like we can't use the money."

"Yeah, you're right. I need to go visit Mimi anyway," Roger said. Mark nodded and pulled away, going for his coat.

* * *

Mark walked up the stairs to street level, hoping he wasn't late. He rushed off across the street, towards a small café. He'd been coming here every week for years. None of his friends knew about it. It was his secret. And it wasn't a secret he felt like sharing with any of them. Especially not Roger. He, of all people, wouldn't understand.

He opened the door and went inside, hurrying to the back corner he went to every time. He smiled at the young woman and the little girl sitting there. "You're late," she said.

"Sorry. The trains screwed up today," Mark replied. He picked the little girl up and sat down across from the woman. "How have things been?"

"Okay. She's starting to talk," the woman replied, looking at the four year old he was holding. "I was worried she wouldn't.

"That's good," Mark said. He kissed the little girl on the cheek. "I love you, sweetie," he whispered.

"I'm really getting sick of this, Mark. I can't do this alone," the woman said. "I want you to take her for a few days. I need to go home for a while, and I haven't exactly told my mother about her."

"You know I can't take her. I can't take her back to that environment," Mark replied.

"Maybe you should have thought about that four years ago."

"Four years ago I wasn't expecting to still be living there. And I also wasn't expecting to be a father," Mark reminded her. "Four years ago you told me it was taken care of, that I wouldn't have to worry about anything."

"And then I changed my mind. I had the right to do that, seeing as it's my body."

"I'm not going to argue with you about this," Mark said. He kissed the little girl again and stood up, handing her back over to her mother. He started out, only to be stopped by the sight of Maureen and Joanne staring at him.

"Mark?" Joanne asked, looking from him, to the woman he'd been sitting with, then to the little girl, and back again. She took him by the wrist and led him outside, Maureen following. "What the hell was that?"

"Look, you can't tell Roger about that. I made a huge mistake, back when I was dating Maureen. He can't find out," Mark said.

"You cheated on me?" Maureen asked.

"Mo, I'm sorry. Please don't tell him," Mark pleaded. The two women looked at each other.

"How long have you been keeping this from him?" Joanne asked. Mark glanced down at the concrete.

"Four years. No one knows, not even my parents. We didn't tell anyone," Mark replied. "I didn't even know until after she was born… she told me it was taken care of, that I wouldn't have to worry about it or anything."

"You have a kid, Mark. How did you expect to keep that from us forever? What happens when she gets older and starts to wonder about your life? What were you going to do when she showed up at your door, trying to see you more often?" Joanne asked.

"It's never going to happen," Mark said. "She can't. She's just learning to talk."

"She's four," Maureen said.

"She's mentally disabled… she has the mind of a one year old," Mark told them. He sighed. "I'm sorry, okay? I just didn't know what to say."

"He needs to know, Mark. It's been long enough," Joanne said.

* * *

Mark sat down next to Roger, who was playing Musetta's Waltz softly. "Hey," he said, putting his arm around the musician.

"Hey. Work go okay?" Roger asked.

"I need to talk to you about that," Mark said, looking away. He pulled his arm back and sighed. "I didn't go to work today."

"I know. Maureen let that much slip," Roger told him.

"Just how much did she let slip?" Mark asked.

"That was all. She realized what she'd done, and hung up on me," Roger replied. "Where were you really?"

"I went to see the woman I cheated on Maureen with," Mark said. Roger nodded. He knew Mark had cheated on Maureen.

"Why?" he asked.

"It's the only way I can see Katie," Mark told him.

"Who's Katie?"

"My daughter."


	2. Chapter 2

**As Long As You're Mine**

DISCLAIMER: I do not own RENT or anything affiliated with it.

A/n: Okay, I heard you. I'm choosing to continue this one for a while. But that means I won't be updating **To Be **as often as I was.

"Your what?" Roger asked. Mark could tell that Roger was trying not to blow up at him.

"My daughter," Mark repeated. He looked down at the floor.

"You have a daughter… and you never thought to tell me about it?" Roger asked. Mark could hear the anger in his voice.

"I…" Mark began.

"How long?" Roger asked. Mark didn't answer. "Mark, how long?"

"Four years," Mark said. "It didn't seem important."

"Not important? We've been dating for a year, and I didn't even know you had a fucking kid! I would think that would count as important," Roger said, getting up. He stormed away, closing the door to his bedroom. Mark stayed where he was, not wanting to know what would happen next.

* * *

When Roger came back out a few hours later, Mark had fallen asleep on the couch. Roger could see the marks on his face from dried tears. He sighed and picked up the smaller man, carrying him to bed. As he laid Mark down on the bed, he gently kissed his forehead. Mark opened his eyes and smiled slightly. "I'm sorry," he said, touching Roger's arm.

"I know. I'm sorry I flew off the handle like that," Roger replied. He leaned over and kissed Mark again.

"You had every right to be mad. I screwed up," Mark said. He closed his eyes. "Lay with me?" Roger smiled and lay down on the bed next to the filmmaker. "Forgive me?"

"On one condition… next time you go see her, I want to go too," Roger said.

"Okay. I can do that," Mark said. He rolled over and snuggled closer to his boyfriend. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," Roger replied.

* * *

Mark walked out of the bedroom and saw Maureen sitting on the couch. "Hey Mo. Did Roger let you in?" he asked.

"Yeah. He told me to tell you he'd be back in an hour or so. He went to a meeting," Maureen told him. Mark walked into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. "Can we talk about… you know," she said. He turned to look at her. "What you told us yesterday."

"I figured that was coming," Mark said. He walked over to the couch and sat down next to her.

"You cheated on me, Mark! After all of the grief you gave me, I find out that you were doing the same thing the entire time," Maureen said.

"It wasn't the entire time, Mo. It was just for a couple of weeks," Mark replied. "She was the only one, I swear."

"But you still lied to me about it!"

"Mo, how many times in the two years we dated did you lie to me about cheating?" Mark asked. "I felt guilty, Mo. But how was I supposed to tell you that I cheated? That the woman I cheated on you with got pregnant and had my child?" He sighed. "How was I supposed to tell all of you about Katie?"

"I don't know, Mark. But you could have at least tried," Maureen said. She shook her head, standing up. "I shouldn't have bothered. I should have just left it alone," she said, walking out. Mark sighed and followed her, even though he was only wearing his jeans from the day before. He left the door open so he could get back in without having to worry about taking his keys.

"Maureen, don't just walk out," he called, chasing her down the stairs. "If you're going to start a conversation like that you should finish it."

"Why should I?" Maureen asked. "Why should I sit there and listen to any of this?"

"You wanted to know, Maureen. You asked, so I told you," Mark replied. "I forgave you, Mo. The least you can do is give me the same courtesy." He turned around and headed back up the stairs to the loft. He closed the door behind him, only to hear it open again fairly quickly. "You didn't have to follow me back up here, Maureen," Mark said, turning around. Only it wasn't Maureen.

* * *

Roger opened the door to the loft and pushed it closed again, a little harder than necessary. Mark hurried out of his bedroom, looking as though he was about to lose his mind. "Babe? You okay?" Roger asked. Mark looked up at him, and Roger could see how furious he was. "What's wrong?"

"She showed up while you were gone, right after Maureen left. She just handed me Katie and a suitcase and left," Mark said.

"What are you talking about?" Roger asked, walking towards Mark.

"That bitch just left Katie with me. No explanation, no instructions. She just dropped her off and left. I don't even have a fucking phone number for her," Mark said.

"Okay," Roger said, unsure of how to respond. "Where is she now?"

"Sleeping. Apparently it's nap time, since she just sort of fell asleep in my arms," Mark replied. He sat down on the couch and buried his head in his hands. "How am I supposed to care for a kid? It's not like I have any experience."

"I thought Cindy had kids," Roger said.

"I haven't seen them since they were born. I held them once, that's it. Not exactly preparation for parenthood," Mark replied. "Especially not for parenting a four year old."

"We'll figure it out. Together."


	3. Chapter 3

**As Long As You're Mine**

DISCLAIMER: I do not own RENT or anything affiliated with it.

A/n: Okay, so I know it isn't going to make sense, but Katie's mom isn't going to have a name, mainly because she isn't important. Makes it harder on me, but she doesn't really need a name.

Mark walked into the loft, surprised to not find Roger and Katie sitting on the couch, playing with the guitar. Roger had figured out that the guitar could keep the little girl entertained for hours at a time, which made Mark happy. At least when she was playing with Roger and the guitar, he didn't have to worry about her getting into something.

"Roger?" he called. No one answered, and he put the groceries he'd gone to get down on the counter so he could go look for them. After checking the bathroom and all of the bedrooms, he noticed a note sitting on the metal table in the kitchen, next to the groceries. He picked it up, deciphering the scrawled words easily. If living with Roger Davis could teach you anything, it was how to read almost anyone's handwriting.

_Gone to the park. Took Katie. Be back in a couple hours. Love, Roger._

"The park?" he wondered aloud. There weren't very many nearby. He sighed and started putting the groceries away. As soon as he finished, Roger opened the loft door and came in with the little girl.

"You guys have fun?" Mark asked, putting the empty bags into the garbage.

"Yeah. This little one loves the swings," Roger said, smiling at the little girl in his arms. She giggled and put her arms around his neck.

"Swing!" she said.

"Maybe another time, sweetie," Roger replied, kissing her forehead. Mark walked over and took Katie from Roger.

"It's nap time," he said, carrying her back towards his old bedroom. He put her down in the bed and pulled the blankets up over her. "Sleep tight," he told her, kissing her forehead. She closed her eyes and pulled the blanket up closer to her face. He pushed her hair away and got up to leave.

"Love Daddy," Katie whispered. He turned around and smiled at her.

"I love you too, sweetheart."

LINELINELINELINE

Mark groaned and got up to stop the incessant knocking on the door. He walked out into the main room of the loft and opened the door just enough to see who was outside. "What are you doing here?" he asked, blocking the entrance to the loft with his body.

"I'm here for Katie," she said, crossing her arms.

"Kiss my ass," Mark said, turning to go back to bed and closing the door behind him. She immediately began knocking again. He turned around and pulled the door open again. "You showed up here a week ago and just dropped her off, no explanation, nothing. Now you show up back here in the middle of the night asking for her. And I'm not going in there to wake her up, because it took long enough to get her to sleep. It's two AM, and if you'll come back at a decent hour, we'll talk. But until then, I'm going to bed and if you start knocking again I'm going to call the cops," Mark told her. He shut the door and walked back towards the bedroom again, climbing in next to Roger.

"Who was it?" Roger asked.

"Katie's mom. She's coming back in the morning," Mark said, snuggling closer.

"What the hell did she want?" Roger asked.

"She came to get Katie. I told her to go home, that we'd talk in the morning," Mark replied. They both closed their eyes and went back to sleep.

LINELINELINELINE

Mark opened his eyes at the sound of more pounding on the door. He rolled over and squinted at the clock as he got out of bed. It was only six in the morning. He sighed and walked out to the door, opening it just enough so that he could see the people on the other side. This time, she'd brought the police.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked. "I told you we would talk at a decent hour."

"I'm here to get my daughter," she replied. The police officers forced the door open and came in.

"Where is she?" one asked.

"Asleep, like any sane person who doesn't work the graveyard shift," Mark replied. "I'm not going to wake her up."

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't arrest you for kidnapping right now," the second officer said, pulling out his handcuffs.

"A week ago, she," Mark said, pointing to the woman, "showed up and dropped Katie off. Just handed me the kid and threw a suitcase into the apartment, no explanation or anything. Then she had the nerve to show up here at two in the morning, trying to take the kid back. And now, as you can see, she's decided to get you all involved, when I would have been glad to settle this with her, civilly, at a decent hour."

"I've done everything for her for the past four years. I told you I needed to go home. It was your turn," she said.

"Okay, first of all, I told you I couldn't take her right now. And it wasn't exactly my idea for you to do it all. I did what I could," Mark replied.

"Did what you could? Where the hell were you when I needed you to watch her when she was younger?" she asked.

"You know I couldn't do anything. And if you don't mind, but there are other people in this apartment who are sleeping," Mark said. Both were being fairly loud.

"I'm not leaving without my daughter," she told him.

"Well then make yourself comfortable, but for God's sake be quiet so we can sleep," Mark said, motioning towards the couch.

"Just give us the kid so we can all go home," one of the officers said.

"I'm not doing anything until I've had a decent night's sleep, and I've had a chance to talk to my lawyer," Mark replied.

"There isn't any need to bring a lawyer into this, Mark. Just give me Katie so I can go. We won't bother you again."

"No, you won't, because I still have parental rights, in case you didn't notice. Katie is just as much my daughter as she is yours, and I don't intend to let you take her back until you can give me a fucking explanation for this past week," Mark replied.

"Wait, the kid's your daughter too?" one of the officers asked.

"I'm guessing she forgot to mention that part."

"Ma'am, if she is his daughter as well, unless you have a custody agreement, we can't do anything," the second officer told her.

"We do have an agreement. I keep her, he visits once a week," the woman told him.

"Do you have the court documents to prove it?" the officer asked.

"We didn't settle it in court. There aren't any documents," Mark told him.

"Then there's nothing we can do."

"Then would you mind getting her out of my apartment so that I can get another hour or so of sleep before my daughter wakes up?" Mark asked. The officers led the woman out of the apartment.


	4. Chapter 4

**As Long As You're Mine**

DISCLAIMER: I do not own RENT or anything affiliated with it.

A/n: Okay, I'm going to attempt to make this chapter a little more Mark/Roger. Which is why I've upped the rating.

Mark sighed as he walked down the hall toward Joanne's office. He stopped in front of the receptionist and smiled, putting Katie down for a moment. "Hi. I'm Mark Cohen, here to see Joanne Jefferson," he said.

"Just a moment," she said, pressing a button on her phone. She announced Mark's arrival to Joanne, who came out of her office.

"Hey Mark," she said.

"Can we talk?" he asked, picking Katie back up. She nodded and motioned for him to come into her office.

"Leslie, tell my next client that I'm running a little behind today, please," she said, before shutting the door to the office so she and Mark could talk in private. He sat down in one of the chairs facing her desk, holding onto Katie. "Alright, tell me what's up."

"I want custody of Katie," Mark said. Joanne nodded. "Her mom left her with me for a week without telling me anything. She didn't leave anything about insurance or contact numbers or anything."

"Is there a custody arrangement already?" Joanne asked. He shook his head.

"We just had an agreement that I'd stay out of their lives except for the one hour a week I got to see Katie," Mark told her. "Her mother didn't want to see me."

"I take it things didn't end amicably?"

"I went to her apartment one day when Katie was a baby to help out, and she kicked me out of the building," Mark replied. He sighed. "I know I'm not exactly the most qualified person to be a father, but I love her. I can't go back to that arrangement. Not after this week." He gave Katie a quick hug as she played silently with the buttons on the front of her shirt. "She told me she loved me yesterday. I don't want to lose that." He sighed. "How much would it cost?"

"It depends. I'll look into it for you," Joanne said. "Look, Mark, about the other day. I'm sorry I blew up at you like that."

"It's okay. I would have done the same thing in your position," Mark replied. "This is Katie, by the way."

"I figured. She's cute," Joanne said, smiling. "She looks like you."

"Yeah, I guess," he said. He smiled back at her before standing up and walking towards the door with his daughter in his arms. "What should I do until we can have something done about custody?" he asked.

"Tell her mother that if she wants to talk, she can talk to me."

"Thanks, Jo."

LINELINELINELINE

Roger smiled as Mark walked out of the spare bedroom Katie had been sleeping in. "She gone to bed?"

"Yeah, finally," Mark said, sitting down on the couch next to Roger and leaning into his lover. "I never knew having a kid was so exhausting." Roger smiled and leaned down to kiss the smaller man. Mark sighed and closed his eyes.

"You aren't too tired to have some fun, are you?" Roger asked.

"Depends on what you mean by fun," Mark said, looking up into his lover's eyes. The rocker smiled mischievously. "Oh God, you actually have the energy for that tonight?"

"We don't have to, if you're too tired," Roger said. Mark shook his head.

"We haven't had a chance in a while. I'm not too tired," he replied, getting up. The rocker followed his lead, pulling the smaller man close to kiss him. Mark moaned slightly. "Maybe we should take this elsewhere… little kids are sneaky."

"Good idea," Roger said, pulling him off towards their bedroom. He shut the door and pushed his lover down onto the bed. He kneeled over him, kissing him as his hands roamed up under the other man's shirt. Finally, he pushed the shirt up and over the smaller man's head, before disposing of his own. He smiled for a moment before continuing the kiss he had cut off to remove the shirts.

Mark moved his hands down to play with the button on Roger's jeans, knowing it would drive the rocker crazy. "Stop that," Roger whispered, pushing Mark's hands away. He immediately put his hands back and continued. "Please stop. I want you to enjoy this."

"I am," Mark told him, as he finally unbuttoned the man's jeans and undid the zipper. He started to push Roger's jeans off.

"Since when are you so insistent?" Roger asked, smiling.

"Since I've been waiting for more than a week for this," Mark replied.

A/n: Okay, I couldn't bring myself to make this anything more. I'm just too modest a person to write detailed slash.


	5. Chapter 5

**As Long As You're Mine**

DISCLAIMER: I do not own RENT or anything affiliated with it.

A/n: Okay, don't kill me! I just moved in at college, and we've been running around nonstop this week – Freshman orientation, ugh.

"Just try to keep her quiet in there, okay? They'll make you leave if she's loud," Mark reminded.

"Don't worry, Mark. I've got it covered," Roger assured him, taking Katie out of Mark's arms. He leaned over and kissed his boyfriend. "It'll all be okay, Mark. I promise." Mark just nodded and they walked into the courtroom where Joanne was waiting. Mark sat down next to her and Roger and Katie sat down in a seat just behind them.

"Are you ready for this?" she asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Mark replied, turning around to watch as Katie's mother walked into the courtroom with her own lawyer.

"Just tell the truth about what happened. You have rights as Katie's father that she's been denying for four years," Joanne reminded him. "It'll be fine."

LINELINELINELINE

Mark watched silently as Katie's mother kissed the little girl's cheek, before handing her back to Roger. "I'll bring her things by later on," the woman said, acknowledging Mark briefly. "I'm going to move back in with my mother for a while."

"That'll be fine," Mark replied. He took the little girl from Roger and held her.

"Love Daddy," she whispered, burying her face in his neck.

"It shouldn't have had to happen this way."

"You're right, it shouldn't have. And I'm sorry it did. But now I can go on with my life," the woman said, turning and walking away from them. Mark kissed Katie on the top of her head and then carried her over to where the rest of the group was waiting for them.


End file.
